In the field of packaging it is often required to provide consumers with a package comprising multiple primary product containers, such multi-packs are desirable for shipping and distribution and for display of promotional information. For cost and environmental considerations, such cartons or carriers need to be formed from as little material as possible and cause as little wastage in the materials from which they are formed as possible.
Another consideration is the closeness of the fit of the carton about the package for securely holding the articles. This is of particular concern where the articles are tapered, round and/or fragile, for example glass bottles. Where round articles are contained in a square-shaped carton, there is space at the corners of the carton. This space allows the round articles some degree of movement within the carton which may cause the articles to damage one another. For example, product labelling may be scuffed, the bottles may be chipped or could even break because of the glass bottles knocking against one another. The closeness of the match between the carton shape and the shape of an article group is therefore an important consideration for both the security of the articles and also for material saving benefits.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,112 to Stout, a carrier is disclosed for packaging bottles which is specifically constructed to prevent bottle breakage due to collision between adjacent bottles. In Stout, a gable topped carrier is provided wherein the top panel of the carrier is not as long or as wide as the bottom panel of the carrier. The side and end walls are tapered and the carrier shape is more closely matched to that of the article group than a square-cornered carton. In addition, it is disclosed in Stout to use pairs of triangular web panels, provided in web panels coupled to the side walls, to form an elongate diamond corner portion. The triangular web panels extend from the vertex of the carrier between the top, side and end walls and terminate between the side and end walls. As such, the corners of the carrier are cut-off proximate to the top, neck and shoulder of the corner bottles. In this way the shape of the carrier is more closely matched to the shape of the bottles and the space between the corner bottles and the corner of the carrier is reduced.
In contrast to the teaching of Stout, in the present invention it has been recognised that a carton or carrier can be constructed with shaped panels that more closely follow the shape of the corner articles and that thereby wrap more tightly, particularly but not exclusively, about the base portions of the articles held within the carrier. By increasing the closeness of the shape of the carton and the tightness with which the carton fits about the articles, the corner gap at least proximate to the base portion of the articles is eliminated or at least minimised and thereby any opportunity for the bottles to move within the package is removed or at least minimised. Furthermore, the automated set-up of a carton according to the present invention may be easier compared to the automated set-up of the carrier disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,112.